Jono Brandel: Kimbra’s “Carolina”

It’s time to take a digital road trip, courtesy of San Francisco based designer, computer artist and ADC Young Guns 12 winner Jono Brandel! Jono teamed up with New Zealand recording artist Kimbra to bring life to her song “Carolina” in an exciting new way — as a fully interactive Android-native app and

“Kimbra and I first started talking over email about a year ago,” explains Jono. “When we met in person at a vegan restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, I knew we’d be great collaborators. At the time she was about to drop a new album, The Golden Echo, and was looking for visual artists to work with for the release. I chose to make a piece for Carolina because the track reminded me of road trips I had taken over the course of my life. My idea was to present the listener with a digital road trip for the event.”

After the event, Jono and Kimbra talked about ways to get the project out to the public, and decided on a mobile app. “We liked the quality of it being a window into the song,” says Jono. “The piece is experimental and unorthodox to the typical app categories that the App Store and Play Store support. Because of this I was concerned about was how people would find it. So, I’m thrilled to learn that Google has a portal for showcasing experimental and artistic Android apps and honored to have Carolina be included.“